Flipping the classroom

I am currently playing with the idea of flipping my classroom.

What is that? It is a new way to think of how to use working time in class versus working time at home.

In a traditional setting, class time is largely spent with the teacher doing most of the talking and possibly students doing some independent work at the end of the period. Then homework is generally students trying to work independently at home on some sort of practice.

With "flipping" these roles are reversed. At home students watch short videos of the teacher teaching concepts that otherwise would have been taught during class time. During class time students practice the skill that was taught in the previous night's video(s).

My initial plan for "flipping":

• Each evening at home students watch a short video of me teaching a concept. They take notes on my video, pausing and replaying as needed. They may even do a problem or two just to make sure they understand the concept. 
• At school the next day, students then self-select one of three groups: 1.) students who absolutely understood the previous night's video and are ready to move on to some sort of enrichment; 2.) students who somewhat understood the concept and want to work collaboratively with other students to further develop proficiency with the concept; and 3.) students who are totally confused and need additional direct instruction from me.

What are the PROs and CONs of such a system?

PROs:

1. True differentiation can occur during note-taking. During "lecture" time at home, students can pause, rewind, and replay as often as needed while taking notes. No more are ALL students subjected to the same lecture experience.
2. True differentiation can occur during class time. Since students are no longer spending 85% of their class time taking notes, they can use that time to actually practice the concepts they are supposed to be learning. However, the added benefit is that students can pick the level of involvement that best meets their need at that particular time: enrichment, working with peers on practice problems, or receiving additional direct instruction.
3. Students who are absent can still view my lectures online, which reduces the amount they fall behind while absent.
4. Flipping more closely mirrors how learning actually happens outside school. If the Internet and YouTube and Google exist, why are classrooms still behaving as if the teacher is the only purveyor of all knowledge?

CONs:

1. Equity issues. What about those students who do not have access to the Internet at home?
2. Motivational issues. Students are loathe to do homework. Will watching videos as "homework" increase motivation or decrease motivation? Are students motivated enough to do the "learning" at home while doing the "practice" in the classroom?
3. Making the videos is time consuming and requires significant advanced planning.

My initial responses to each of the CONs:
#1: Sure equity is an issue...it is already an issue with the status quo of traditional teaching, however. What is so equitable about subjecting all students to the exact same lecture in a traditional classroom? In a traditional class period, the top students are bored with the lecture while the bottom students are completely lost. Perhaps only the middle students are actually benefitting from the lecture. While flipping a classroom might create one equity issue (access to Internet), it solves a greater equity issue (access to appropriate instructional experience).

#2: I suspect students will be more motivated to watch short lecture videos rather than doing a bunch of problems from a textbook. Some studies have shown that videos on demand improve student learning in mathematics, science, and social studies.

#3: This is true, however, one does not have to make all one's own videos. There are thousands of videos already created on the Internet. One merely needs to find them in advance and provide the links for the students at home.

I am sure there are plenty of things (PROs and CONs) that I have not mentioned. What are some?